Damien << dah MYAHN >>, Father (1840-1889), was a Roman Catholic priest who gave his life to the care of lepers in a colony at Molokai, Hawaii. Father Damien was born Joseph de Veuster << duh vuh STEHR >> on Jan. 3, 1840, in Belgium and became a member of the Fathers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He asked to be sent to Molokai as resident priest (see Hawaii (Molokai)). But because of the difficulty in getting doctors, Father Damien was obliged to serve as a doctor as well. He was stricken with leprosy in 1885. Father Damien died on April 15, 1889. Hawaii has placed a statue of him in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. In 2009, Father Damien was canonized (declared a saint).
